A Field Evaluation of Airborne Techniques for Detection of Unexploded Ordnance

US Defense Department estimates indicate that as many as 11 million acres of government land in the U. S. may contain unexploded ordnance (UXO), with the cost of identifying and disposing of this material estimated at nearly $500 billion. The size and character of the ordnance, types of interference, vegetation, geology, and topography vary from site to site. Because of size or composition, some ordnance is difficult to detect with any geophysical method, even under favorable soil and cultural interference conditions. For some sites, airborne methods may provide the most time and cost effective means for detection of UXO. Airborne methods offer lower risk to field crews from proximity to unstable ordnance, and less disturbance of sites that maybe environmentally sensitive. Data were acquired over a test site at Edwards AFB, CA using airborne magnetic, electromagnetic, multispectral and thermal sensors. Survey areas included sites where trenches might occur, and a test site in which we placed deactivated ordnance, ranging in size from small ''bomblets'' to large bombs. Magnetic data were then acquired with the Aerodat HM-3 system, which consists of three cesium magnetometers within booms extending to the front and sides of the helicopter, and mounted such that the helicopter can be flown within 3m of the surface. Electromagnetic data were acquired with an Aerodat 5 frequency coplanar induction system deployed as a sling load from a helicopter, with a sensor altitude of 15m. Surface data, acquired at selected sites, provide a comparison with airborne data. Multispectral and thermal data were acquired with a Daedelus AADS 1268 system. Preliminary analysis of the test data demonstrate the value of airborne systems for UXO detection and provide insight into improvements that might make the systems even more effective

Acridine-decorated cyclometallated gold(III) complexes: synthesis and anti-tumour investigations

(C^N) and (C^N^C) cyclometalated Au(III) represent a highly promising class of potential anticancer agents. We report here the synthesis of seven new cyclometalated Au(III) complexes with five of them bearing an acridine moiety attached via (N^O) or (N^N) chelates, acyclic amino carbenes (AAC) and N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC). The antiproliferative properties of the different complexes were evaluated in vitro on a panel of cancer cells including leukaemia, lung and breast cancer cells. We observed a trend between the cytotoxicity and the intracellular gold uptake of some representative compounds of the series. Some of the acridine-decorated complexes were demonstrated to interact with ds-DNA using FRET-melting techniques

Ventricular Function Determination During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Following Norwood Operation: A Case Report

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been used successfully to support both cardiac and pulmonary function following Stage I Norwood operation. Determination of the return of native cardiac function and pulmonary function can be easily accomplished because of the single ventricle physiology. The pulmonary function can be assessed while on full flow ECMO by isolating the membrane oxygenator gas compartment, allowing evaluation of native pulmonary gas exchange through the modified Blalock–Taussig shunt. Cardiac output can be calculated by using the following oxygen delivery equation: Total O2 delivery ECMO oxygen delivery + ventricular oxygen delivery. The ventricular O2 saturation used in the formula for oxygen delivery is same as the mixed venous O2 saturation returning to the ECMO pump because of the large atrial communication following the Norwood operation. A 3.2 kilogram patient was placed on a pediatric ECMO circuit utilizing a heparin-coated centrifugal pump and a microporous membrane oxygenate after failure to wean from bypass because of a low oxygen saturation and poor ventricular function. On day 1 of support, the systemic arterial oxygen saturation was 100% and matched the ECMO arterial saturation. On day 2 of the support, the patient's arterial saturation decreased to 96%, and the ECMO mixed venous saturation was 87%. Using the oxygen delivery formula, the ventricular cardiac output was calculated to be 175 mL/min, with an ECMO flow of 400 mL/min for a total cardiac output of 575 mL/min. The native ventricular contribution was, therefore, 30% of total cardiac output. Calculation of cardiac output would normally require a left ventricular sample in a patient with biventricular physiology. The single ventricle physiology in the post-operative Norwood patient makes this calculation a useful tool for assessing return of ventricular function in these patients

Strategic Environmental Research and Development Project FY 1994: Assessing national remote sensing technologies for use in US Department of Energy Environmental Restoration Activities, Oak Ridge Solid Waste Storage Area 4 case study

During FY 1994, the Oak Ridge Environmental Restoration (ER) Remote Sensing Program teamed with members of the Oak Ridge National Security Program Office (NSPO), the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM) under contract to the National Exploitation Laboratory (NEL), the Oak Ridge Waste Area Group 4 (WAG 4) ER Program, and the US Department of Energy (DOE), Offices of Technology Development, Nonproliferation and National Security, and Environmental Restoration, to conduct a test and demonstration of the uses of national remote sensing technologies at DOE hazardous waste sites located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Objectives of the Oak Ridge study were to determine if national remote sensing technologies are useful in conducting prescreening, characterization, and/or monitoring activities to expedite the clean-up process at hazardous waste sites and to cut clean-up costs wherever possible. This project was sponsored by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Project (SERDP)

Government Applications Task Force ground truth study of WAG 4

This report documents the Government Applications Task Force (GATF) Buried Waste Project. The project was initiated as a field investigation and verification of the 1994 Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program`s (SERDP) Buried Waste Identification Project results. The GATF project team included staff from three US Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratories [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC)] and from the National Exploitation Laboratory. Similar studies were conducted at each of the three DOE laboratories to demonstrate the effective use of remote sensing technologies. The three locations were selected to assess differences in buried waste signatures under various environmental conditions (i.e., climate, terrain, precipitation, geology, etc.). After a brief background discussion of the SERDP Project, this report documents the field investigation (ground truth) results from the 1994--1995 GATF Buried Waste Study at ORNL`s Waste Area Grouping (WAG) 4. Figures for this report are located in Appendix A

Gamma radiological surveys of the Oak Ridge Reservation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, 1990-1993, and overview of data processing and analysis by the Environmental Restoration Remote Sensing Program, Fiscal Year 1995

Three gamma radiological surveys have been conducted under auspices of the ER Remote Sensing Program: (1) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) (1992), (2) Clinch River (1992), and (3) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) (1993). In addition, the Remote Sensing Program has acquired the results of earlier surveys at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) (1990) and PORTS (1990). These radiological surveys provide data for characterization and long-term monitoring of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contamination areas since many of the radioactive materials processed or handled on the ORR, PGDP, and PORTS are direct gamma radiation emitters or have gamma emitting daughter radionuclides. High resolution airborne gamma radiation surveys require a helicopter outfitted with one or two detector pods, a computer-based data acquisition system, and an accurate navigational positioning system for relating collected data to ground location. Sensors measure the ground-level gamma energy spectrum in the 38 to 3,026 KeV range. Analysis can provide gamma emission strength in counts per second for either gross or total man-made gamma emissions. Gross count gamma radiation includes natural background radiation from terrestrial sources (radionuclides present in small amounts in the earth`s soil and bedrock), from radon gas, and from cosmic rays from outer space as well as radiation from man-made radionuclides. Man-made count gamma data include only the portion of the gross count that can be directly attributed to gamma rays from man-made radionuclides. Interpretation of the gamma energy spectra can make possible the determination of which specific radioisotopes contribute to the observed man-made gamma radiation, either as direct or as indirect (i.e., daughter) gamma energy from specific radionuclides (e.g., cesium-137, cobalt-60, uranium-238)

Impact of Left Ventricular Dysfunction on Outcome in Aortic Stenosis Patients After Aortic Valve Replacement

Surgical treatment for aortic stenosis includes aortic valve replacement, which alleviates symptoms and increases longevity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction after aortic valve replacement. Left ventricular function was assessed by a retrospective review of preoperative and postoperative ejection fractions (EF) using echocardiography. The prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction after aortic valve replacement was 17.39% with an odds ratio of 4.37 for low preoperative EF. Despite advances in myocardial protection and cardiothoracic surgical care, preoperative EF remains a strong predictor of outcome in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement